Leigh reviewed Blindsided : Lifting a Life Above Illness: A Reluctant Memoir on + 378 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
A readable account of Mr. Cohen's rise in the journalism field coinciding with his physical demise due to MS. It's incredibly sad and a few scenes will stick with you pretty vividly; namely, one where he "tricks" a nurse during a physical exam. Above all else, you'll feel Cohen's sense of determination - not even a degenerative illness and a wheelchair can hold this man back. Recommended for biography lovers and anyone who needs a renewal of faith in the human spirit.
Tish O. (tish) -
Helpful Score: 3
if you have a chronic illness or if you are caring for someone with one,this is a must read. the author is difficult to read at times,it often sounds like whining.but he pulls it all together in the end.
this book has deeply affected me as a person with several chronic illness'.
this book has deeply affected me as a person with several chronic illness'.
Katrin B. (mum2gabe) reviewed Blindsided : Lifting a Life Above Illness: A Reluctant Memoir on + 16 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Having just read the very last sentence I have tears in my eyes from the strong emotions I feel upon it's end. Words can't describe how well written and truly honest this book is.
It will touch your heart and soul. This book will take you to places within your psyche that are so painful, gut wrenching and raw you will wonder how Richard could write in ways that you have always felt but were unable to put into words.
I have MS and have read many books on the subject of living with a chronic illness. This is by far the best. If you or your family is living with illness this book is should be on the top of your reading to-do list.
It will touch your heart and soul. This book will take you to places within your psyche that are so painful, gut wrenching and raw you will wonder how Richard could write in ways that you have always felt but were unable to put into words.
I have MS and have read many books on the subject of living with a chronic illness. This is by far the best. If you or your family is living with illness this book is should be on the top of your reading to-do list.
Kathy P. (taffy) reviewed Blindsided : Lifting a Life Above Illness: A Reluctant Memoir on + 120 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
The author takes you on his continuing journey of learning to cope with the everyday challenges of living with MS and colon cancer. Richard Cohen is a person one would like to meet.
Peggy D. (atleast10hats) reviewed Blindsided : Lifting a Life Above Illness: A Reluctant Memoir on + 222 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
In this moving and engrossing memoir, veteran television news producer Richard Cohen relates a life spent dealing with multiple sclerosis, first diagnosed when he was 25 years old and just getting started in the competitive world of broadcast journalism. As his career progressed, he struggled not only with the disease but the touchy question of how much of the truth about himself to share with colleagues and potential employers. Cohen spent much of his life running from the onset of the disease's symptoms from which his father and grandmother also suffered. Defiantly, he took challenging, sometimes extremely dangerous assignments in Lebanon, Poland, and on the domestic political campaign trail, even as his body deteriorated. But over the course of Blindsided, it becomes apparent that illness had actually built Cohen up even as it ripped him apart. Without the physical and mental toughness required to navigate a journalist's life while fighting back loss of eyesight and poor equilibrium, it's doubtful that the flaky kid we meet early in the book would transform into the award-winning professional Cohen eventually becomes. His marriage to journalist Meredith Vieira, every bit his equal as both newshound and deadpan cynical comic, gave Cohen the stable family life and children he needed when MS made it impossible to continue in a traditional news job. But two bouts with colon cancer in the late 1990s tested his resolve and his family's patience. While Cohen is both courageous and inspirational, Blindsided is not the overly sentimental clichéd tale that stories about fighting illness often become. He refuses to paint himself as the hero (except when making fun of his own failure to be heroic) and recounts in detail the strain that he put on his marriage and children. Stories such as this often end with the memoirist arriving at a state of peace and mental clarity but again Cohen remains more compelling and credible by offering no such pat answers. As with most people fighting to preserve their families, their lives, and their bodies, Richard Cohen's is an ongoing struggle.
Rhona L. (Roobee) reviewed Blindsided : Lifting a Life Above Illness: A Reluctant Memoir on + 72 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Wonderfully written book about a man. The fact that he has multiple sclerosis is just a part of his life such as; being a husband, father, television producer. His tenacity is amazing and the questions he grapples with are fascinating to witness. The author is very smart and has a wry sense of humor that helps him and the reader get through his day without pity
Sandra H. (Sanandee) reviewed Blindsided : Lifting a Life Above Illness: A Reluctant Memoir on + 715 more book reviews
Cohen is "legally blind", writes account of living with devastating illness for 30+ years. A family book. Back cover endorsements by Tom Brokaw, Beverly Sills, Christopher Reeve, Dr Varmus, president Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Jessyka R. (musyklvr) reviewed Blindsided : Lifting a Life Above Illness: A Reluctant Memoir on + 32 more book reviews
There are so many positive reviews for this. While I'm not really surprised (I don't suffer the delusion that others feel the same way I do), I am surprised that there are only five star reviews on here while the book is rated a 3.5 overall.
I had difficulty with this book, and not due to the subject matter. Cohen's thoughts were disorganized and he was all over the place. It was difficult to follow from one paragraph to the next.
He definitely is a remarkable person and should be admired for having the courage to come out and speak about his chronic illness.
I had difficulty with this book, and not due to the subject matter. Cohen's thoughts were disorganized and he was all over the place. It was difficult to follow from one paragraph to the next.
He definitely is a remarkable person and should be admired for having the courage to come out and speak about his chronic illness.
Barbara P. (gotchagal) -
"Richard Cohen may be legally blind, but his book paints an incredibly sharp picture of what it is like to live passionately - with joy, love and anger - when besieged by chronic illnesses and their relentless artillery of uncertainty, fear,pain and disability. His life is drama on a human scale and well told."
"I cannot remember ever being more profoundly moved by any book I have ever read. Richard Cohen says he is less of a person than he was. He is wrong. He's a giant of a man who won't ever be defeated. Don't miss this book. It'a brilliant!"
This book is fascinating, brutally honest and moving. How much we are capable of enduring is amazing. We'll never know until faced with the choice. Some of us fall apart and others stand up with a strength we didn't realize we had. I have such admiration for Richard Cohen and his wonderful wife, Meridith Vieira who exhibits an amazing strength filled with love, honesty and great humor as well. Do yourself a favor and read all about it.
"I cannot remember ever being more profoundly moved by any book I have ever read. Richard Cohen says he is less of a person than he was. He is wrong. He's a giant of a man who won't ever be defeated. Don't miss this book. It'a brilliant!"
This book is fascinating, brutally honest and moving. How much we are capable of enduring is amazing. We'll never know until faced with the choice. Some of us fall apart and others stand up with a strength we didn't realize we had. I have such admiration for Richard Cohen and his wonderful wife, Meridith Vieira who exhibits an amazing strength filled with love, honesty and great humor as well. Do yourself a favor and read all about it.
Rita K. (bklyn) -
A touching memoir of one man's struggle to live with long term illness. Insightfull and inspiring.
Meredith Viera's husband's struggle with MS and cancer.
